Various types of luminaires can be mounted. One particular type of luminaire is known as a wall pack luminaire. A wall pack luminaire is typically attached to a support structure, such as a vertically oriented wall. Many wall pack light fixtures include housings formed of two or more individual components coupled to one another. The individual components of the housing include at least a mounting portion and a cover coupled to the mounting portion. The wall pack luminaire typically houses one or more light sources for providing illumination to a desired illuminated area.
Installation of the housing of conventional wall pack light fixtures occurs in at least two separate steps. The mounting portion is first mounted to the wall or other support structure and then the cover is later coupled to the mounting portion in a proper position. During the step where the mounting portion is mounted to the wall, the mounting portion is securely mounted to the wall or is attached to a J-box. One or more electrical wires that are located within or adjacent to the support structure are routed into the mounting portion and electrically coupled to the light source, thereby providing current to the light source. While the installer connects the electrical wires to the light source, the cover is typically propped in an inconvenient and/or awkward manner. In certain instances, the inconvenient manner in which the cover is propped causes the installer to rush through the installation and possibly make mistakes.
Conventional approaches to propping the cover include the installer holding the cover in one hand, thereby causing the installer to make wiring connections with the other hand. This approach is very inconvenient to the installer and does not allow the installer to easily make the connections. Another conventional approach to propping the cover includes placing the cover on a ladder. This approach is not safe since the cover can fall off of the ladder and be damaged or cause injury to a person. Alternatively, the placement of the cover can interfere with the installer's installation of the luminaire.
Another conventional approach to propping the cover includes placing the cover on a safety cable. This approach adds additional time for setting up and disassembling the safety cable, which therefore adds additional costs for the installation. Also, the cover can be inadvertently disconnected from the safety cable or can interfere with the installation.
Another conventional approach to propping the cover includes using captive hinges located along an edge of the wall pack luminaire that allow the cover to rotate open. This approach requires that there be sufficient room in front of the wall pack light fixture so that the cover can fully rotate about the captive hinges. Thus, the installer has to lean backwards to allow the cover to rotate, which can cause the installer to fall off the ladder. Alternatively, the installer has to maintain his ladder a required distance away from the wall pack light fixture so that when he climbs up the ladder, he is not interfering with the rotation of the cover. In this situation, the installer has to lean forward to perform the installation of the fixture because the ladder is not positioned as close to the fixture as typically desired.
In view of the foregoing shortcomings, there is a need to facilitate the mounting of a luminaire when the luminaire consists of two or more components. In particular, there is a need to be able to easily and securely position a cover of the luminaire while wiring connections can be completed during the installation of a luminaire.